Long time carnival cruiser here, debating Norwegian Mexican riviera.

[mistyinca]

Ok, so I've only sailed carnival and I've done their Mexican Riviera on the splendor 2x, and several other carnival cruises. So I'm interested in trying the similar itinerary here on Norwegian. I would love for someone to "sell" me on this line. I'm not committed to carnival, it's just what I know. But a change of pace would be refreshing. What are the key points to know about this line? The food, service, entertainment. I've done it all in carnival, and this would be fun to try a new line since I've done the same itinerary there...

 

If anyone has been on both lines, I welcome your thoughts on both and how they compare.

 

Thanks! :)

[luddite]

Service crew on NCL is the best there is.

If fixed dining at dinner is a big deal, you won't like NCL.

NCL isn't a step down from a Carnival experience.

[che5904]

Did both lines.

 

Although my heart is with NCL because that is who I started with and they do freestyle dining 99% better IMO than Carnival does MTD. That point is very important to us so we lean toward NCL.

 

Besides that I would say the two lines are pretty equal in my eyes.

 

Sorry I cannot sell you on NCL, you will have to do that yourself. But if you are looking for a change of pace and you were happy with Carnival, you would probably be equally happy with NCL.

[gooselover]

We have been on Carnival and RCCL. We have booked our first cruise on Getaway for May 2014. Why not just try it yourself to see if you like it? That's what we are doing!

 

With that being said, we have never been on a bad cruise yet! Really looking forward to Getaway!

[kcwingwalker]

Did both lines.

 

Although my heart is with NCL because that is who I started with and they do freestyle dining 99% better IMO than Carnival does MTD. That point is very important to us so we lean toward NCL.

 

Besides that I would say the two lines are pretty equal in my eyes.

 

Sorry I cannot sell you on NCL, you will have to do that yourself. But if you are looking for a change of pace and you were happy with Carnival, you would probably be equally happy with NCL.

 

Agree and check out the NCL suites............much better than Carnival

[che5904]

Agree and check out the NCL suites............much better than Carnival

 

Yes you are very right. I'm not a "suite" traveller but I did notice major differences there.

[mistyinca]

Thanks for all the replies. As for trying it myself, I'm all for that, just trying to get at what is different, such as it sounds like the dining experience is very different...

[che5904]

Thanks for all the replies. As for trying it myself, I'm all for that, just trying to get at what is different, such as it sounds like the dining experience is very different...

 

Different than Carnival...yes, different than normal life...no.

 

Freestyle dining is the same as land based restaurants. You walk to whichever main diningroom you choose during open hours (posted in your dailies), go to the host/hostess and asked to be seated. You will be seated at a table suited for the number in your party. Or make reservations at a specialty, additional pay restaurant during the hours they are open (again posted in your dailies) go to the host/hostess give your name and again be seated at a table suited for the number in your party. Or another option is go to the light meal restaurant (24 hr dining venue) for some wings as your apetizer, walk to one of the main dining rooms for your entree and grab some ice cream from the buffet for desert.

 

But be warned, there is no guys burgers :( I'll miss those :D

[portcbob]

Hi Misty.

 

My wife and I went on the Norwegian Star a couple of years back to the Mexican Riviera when they also did Acapulco. Absolutely loved the cruise and especially the Star. Ship was just a nice size, food was excellent, as was the entertainment and all staff. We also particularly liked the BBQ's around the pool deck whilst the band was playing. I haven't been on Carnival and probably wont, but we love the freestyle dining on Norwegian. This means you can browse the menus outside the restaurants and choose the menu that suits for the night, just stroll in when ever you want and with whom you want and have a great meal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers Bob.

PS. If you need any further specific info about Norwegian cruises, just ask.:):):)

[che5904]

Oh and NCL does not have an Elegant night. It has one or 2 dress up or not nights, but they appear to be just a night when there are more photo ops to be had.

 

But if you like to fancy up, you will not be alone, some passengers still do.

[mugtech]

If you have never seen Second City do improv and sketch comedy, then USA based NCL cruises will give you a chance to check it out.

[Alliezona09]

Ok, so I've only sailed carnival and I've done their Mexican Riviera on the splendor 2x, and several other carnival cruises. So I'm interested in trying the similar itinerary here on Norwegian. I would love for someone to "sell" me on this line. I'm not committed to carnival, it's just what I know. But a change of pace would be refreshing. What are the key points to know about this line? The food, service, entertainment. I've done it all in carnival, and this would be fun to try a new line since I've done the same itinerary there...

 

If anyone has been on both lines, I welcome your thoughts on both and how they compare.

 

Thanks! :)

 

Have since given up Carnival for NCL~ on Carnival we never did Anytime Dining, but I LOVE it on NCL~! It's great on port days when you come back from a long day of excursions~ no rush to get back in time for dinner~ we always did early as I hate eating late. We thought the entertainment was a step up from Carnival. Cabins are smaller but I really didn't notice it, we had an interior and it was very comfortable. Service is also a step up in my opinion, but every ship is different but on the 2 cruises I took on the Sky (basically B2B) it was top notch!

[mistyinca]

Hi Misty.

 

My wife and I went on the Norwegian Star a couple of years back to the Mexican Riviera when they also did Acapulco. Absolutely loved the cruise and especially the Star. Ship was just a nice size, food was excellent, as was the entertainment and all staff. We also particularly liked the BBQ's around the pool deck whilst the band was playing. I haven't been on Carnival and probably wont, but we love the freestyle dining on Norwegian. This means you can browse the menus outside the restaurants and choose the menu that suits for the night, just stroll in when ever you want and with whom you want and have a great meal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers Bob.

PS. If you need any further specific info about Norwegian cruises, just ask.:):):)

 

Ok so are these different dining options included in the price, or are all these additional costs?

[che5904]

Ok so are these different dining options included in the price, or are all these additional costs?

 

Here is the dining guide for all NCL ships

 

http://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/DiningGuide_06242013.pdf

 

The top section as you can see are included in your fare.

The next section are all the specialty dining options at a cost (like the steakhouse on Carnival ships).

 

Just follow down the column whichever ship you are interested in to find which ones are available on that ship.

Edited December 5, 2013 by che5904

[TravelDiva88]

Ok so are these different dining options included in the price, or are all these additional costs?

 

Included in the fare is the buffet, two or three main restaurants (depending on the size of the ship) and a 24 hour (or late night 6P-6A) dining venue, as well as the sail-away BBQ poolside (on some sailings).

 

There are also several surcharge restaurants on each ship.

 

I love freestyle dining and we hesitate to sail any other line at this point. Show up when you want, most times you'll be seated immediately, or perhaps have a 5-10 minute wait at max.

[rowdyrosie]

We have cruised CCL Spirit, Mexican Riviera, and are doing Star Dec 2014.

You will love the Star, very friendly, great food,good shows, and hopping Casino. I think the Star is like the Spirit. We had an Aft suite with Butler etc. Whoa Baby, this is the way to go on the Star.

[love2relax]

We love to sail in NCL Suites. I have only sailed in a suite on HAL and Carnival, but NCL was WAY better. There are many more perks.

 

As for the specialty dining, on my first NCL cruise; we didn't try any of them until later in the cruise because I didn't want to pay the extra fee. Now I just can't get enough of the specialty restaurants!

 

The specialty restaurants are cheaper than the one Carnival specialty steak house; and far better. We usually hit Teppanyaki (like Benihana), Churrascaria (lots of different meats and grilled pineapple- they keep bringing you more until you tell them to stop), the Italian restaurant, and Cagney's (steakhouse). One of my friends really likes Le Bistro, but I'm not a French food fan. Wow! I sound like a foodie, don't I?

 

We also love the crew. Even though we have had great experiences on almost every line we have sailed, I have to say that the NCL crew is great.

 

Last year, when we were docked in the Bahamas next to a Carnival ship; the NCL crew were out on the pier next to the ship welcoming passengers back with their usual water and wet washcloths. They were dancing to the music that was playing up on the pool deck. I looked at our line of passengers waiting to get on, and compared it to the line of passengers getting on the Carnival ship next to us.

 

All of the Carnival passengers were watching our crew. I felt kind of sorry for them because our "line" was having fun and cooling off with wet washrags and water (while waiting for people to clear the metal detectors) and the Carnival passengers were doing nothing but waiting in the heat.

 

You can see by my signature that I am a big Carnival fan as well, so I'm not bashing Carnival. They are great, but I like NCL better! I have 2 NCL cruises booked, and one of them is for the Mexican Riviera as well.

Edited December 7, 2013 by love2relax

[jonbgd]

The 2 biggest differences I have noticed is

1 The Freestyle dining is a big change from the traditional dining on Carnival.

I feel MDR service isn't as good on NCL I also don't get to have that report with the wait staff as I do on CCL

 

2 NCL customer service is how CCL use to be.

I feel the staff actually cares to improve the product.

Especially since they show up to the Meet and greet for CruiseCritic and give you their phone #s in case there are any issues

 

BUT #3 is why don't you try NCL and form your own opinions.

Your on a cruise and how bad could it be especially comparing it to Carnival

[lisakoivu]

I know that food is subjective, but I do think it tastes better on Norwegian. It's hotter and fresher and there is more variety. Yes, I know NCL has some food problems, but I'm comparing them to CCL, not the world at large, and my opinion is NCL wins. But I know it's subjective. I'm on vacation, so I don't like getting dressed and talking to my table of people every night, but a lot of people do. On Carnival, I find that you either "sit down for dinner", or you eat junk food. On Norwegian, if you were having that kind of week, you'd NEVER have to sit in a main dining room at a certain time, but you'd still get fresh and interesting food from the four food groups. For me, that's the biggest difference.

 

Personally, I think each line has a pro or a con that cancels out same on the other line.... If I didn't have my family to consider, I'd just go for what's cheap. Also, getting tired of the same old boring itineraries on NCL.

 

HOWEVER, my family (DH 43, DD, 20, DS, 17) REFUSE to go on Carnival because of the dining situation. BTW, we have never paid for the upsell restaurants on Norwegian, although I hear they're good, we spend our money on other stuff...but we STILL find much more variety, flexibility and choice in the free restaurants than we find anywhere on Carnival.

 

I do agree with most of the posters, the main difference you will find is in food and dining, but it's hard to say which ship's method of feeding you will be your preference. But hey, you're cruising, you'll have fun no matter what. :)

[che5904]

I know that food is subjective, but I do think it tastes better on Norwegian. It's hotter and fresher and there is more variety. Yes, I know NCL has some food problems, but I'm comparing them to CCL, not the world at large, and my opinion is NCL wins. But I know it's subjective. I'm on vacation, so I don't like getting dressed and talking to my table of people every night, but a lot of people do. On Carnival, I find that you either "sit down for dinner", or you eat junk food. On Norwegian, if you were having that kind of week, you'd NEVER have to sit in a main dining room at a certain time, but you'd still get fresh and interesting food from the four food groups. For me, that's the biggest difference.

 

 

I would have to agree with most of this.

 

I wouldn't say I found the food better, they were both good IMO.

 

But I did find in the MDR that NCL's meals came out hotter than CCL, but I think that was because CCL, even in their MTD brought the food out of the kitchen the same way I assume them to bring it for fixed dining (a whole section at a time). Even if the person at the next table ordered 20 minutes before us, they were still served that course at the same time as us.

 

When it came to included dining options, I'd say they were very similar, MDR, buffet and then specialized areas like (deli on Carnival, 24 eatery on NCL). But CCL's dining times are not as long in duration as NCL, so I think it spreads people out a little more when everyone doesn't have to eat in such a short time frame. We found we really had to plan on CCL to meet breakfast, lunch and dinner times because they were very short.

 

Since I used MTD on CCL, we didn't feel the need to dress any different than what we dress for dinner on NCL. So I can't weigh in on that.

Edited December 7, 2013 by che5904

[anastasia3939]

My CCL pros

 

Bigger staterooms for those of us that use inside or balcony cabins

 

Fixed dining with the same waiter, so it's faster and they

[anastasia3939]

Sorry, baby hit send

 

CCL (cont)

 

MDR dining faster and nicer wait staff

Better desserts

 

My better on NCL list :

 

Entertainment!!! Last time i sailed Carnival they cheapened it down so much most were downright unwatchable. Genuinely enjoyed NCL's entertainers.

 

The buffet.... Many more types of food available compared to CCL

 

Nicer crew in general (besides MDR wait staff) Everyone is super friendly and helpful.

 

I'd sail either line in a heartbeat based on price and itinerary. I'd personally pick an NCL ship over a Carnival ship all else being equal, my husband would take Carnival.

[che5904]

Sorry, baby hit send

 

CCL (cont)

 

:D :D too funny

 

 

I'd sail either line in a heartbeat based on price and itinerary. I'd personally pick an NCL ship over a Carnival ship all else being equal, my husband would take Carnival.

 

agreed

[vols_159]

Agree and check out the NCL suites............much better than Carnival

 

Comes with a lot higher price tag also

[hpecorari]

Different than Carnival...yes, different than normal life...no.

 

Freestyle dining is the same as land based restaurants. You walk to whichever main diningroom you choose during open hours (posted in your dailies), go to the host/hostess and asked to be seated. You will be seated at a table suited for the number in your party.

 

Or, if you want to meet new people you may be asked or can request to sit with others. It's your choice!

 

Harriet